A village in a valley

The third book in Nichols's Allways trilogy contains a new foreword by Bryan Connon, Beverley Nichols's biographer. Set in the English countryside, the hilarious book is as much about the author's love for plants as it is about the village in which he lived. The depictions of flowers and ornamentals - "A single one of those gloxinias would be an event in Allways ... I should give a party for it" - are both inspiring and unforgettable. This is the voice of one whose chief endowment is an appreciation for plants and the landscape, including a keen understanding of the importance gardens play in an increasingly modern world.